Illyria comic

[littlesoprano15]

Angel Spotlight: Illyria finally came out today after a month's delay. I got my copies today (all the covers) and really enjoyed them! I'm not going to discuss/give anything away about the comic at this point for fear of "spoiling" everyone, but I will say that it is FAR superior to Angel: Old Friends so far as Illyria characterization, dialogue

Comments

[littlesoprano15]

Yes, I can see that as a possible explanation, but my personal view is more in line with yours. I find it a bit difficult to believe that Illyria would cry, as she does while watching the videos, out of either obligation or frustration at not feeling remorse. Illyria, despite her very genuine feelings for Wesley by NFA, also has no real desire to be human-- at least in canon-- so recognizing herself as inhuman would not bring her to tears. Maybe at some point down the line, had we seen a Season 6... I think she was crying for the exact reasons you stated-- she feels remorse, and she doesn't like how it feels one bit. This is actually a nice development for the character, though I think had they done it on the series it would have to be drawn out through a long period of time. Illyria is soulless (unless you go for the ever-popular having-Fred's-soul theory) and comes from a time when only power mattered. Despite Fred's influence-- memories or otherwise-- she's not going to suddenly develop a full conscience. (I do think, though, that Illyria had much more of a moral code all along, despite her time period, than she lets on. "And that made it just?" "A corrupted ruler turns a blind eye to battles from which he cannot gain.")

What I find a little harder to puzzle out is WHY she lied. Illyria is generally honest and looks down on deceict. Then again, she is honest not so much because she feels it is moral but because people most times lie out of fear. When she was so powerful, she had nothing to fear and therefore very few reasons to lie. Illyria, even with her proven track record of "posturing" to cover up weakness in public, is very honest with Wesley right from the start about her new shortcomings. ("We are so weak." "...I'd be but prey to those I knew.") Why does she lie to him about the remorse, especially when there was potential gain involved? I think the feeling but have so overwhelmed her, disgusted her, confused her, on a massive level for her to have taken that route. When she'd taken on her "experiment" in order to prove Wesley wrong, she'd had absolutely no idea what to expect. She doesn't share THIS weakness with him because it deals with emotions-- it's a weakness she's never fought with before. There was probably fear involved, too, on a huge level. Either she felt she couldn't explain it, he wouldn't believe her, or it was just too much and too dangerous for her to share.